Page 8 - Des Pawson "Des Pawson's Knot Craft" 2 edit.

KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:16 Page 7

SOME TIPS OF THE TRADE

Heaving board (with mallet)

that a brand new tool is perfect, that a better grip is obtained
so it is well worth the trouble to when working a knot tight with
smooth and adjust the shape to its tip.
your own ideal.
If you are going to use your LOOKING AFTER WOODEN FIDS
marlinespike aloft then ensure Fids are really only stretching
there is a hole so that you can fit tools; they are not levers. Many
a lanyard. a wooden fid has had its end
broken because it has been used
SWEDISH FID to lever open strands. If there is a
The tool that makes my living for need to lever, then use a steel
me is the Swedish fid, so called marline spike to open out the
because the original was patented strand first, before pushing the
by a Swede, A J Svenson, in 1953. fid well in– you can use a bit
It comes in a number of sizes. of tallow to ease the passage of
After any sharp edges have been the tool.
smoothed and the end nicely
rounded, it is a far better tool for LITTLE MARLINESPIKES
most work than the traditional These can be made from a 6 inch
wooden fid. When it is nail with a sharpened end and a
tucked into the rope or Turk’s head round its head. A
knot, it forms small sharpened metal meat
a channel for a skewer has been in my ditty bag
strand to pass since I was a boy. A screwdriver
along and the can also be shaped up for a
groove means makeshift marlinespike.

Left to right: Heaving mallet, Heaver, Fid, Marlinespike,
Swedish fid, Little marlinespike, Loop tool

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